Human Rights and Drug Policy in Asia

The Asian Human Rights and Drug Policy Program will be held in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, from November 5 to November 15, 2014.

The course aims to bring together a multidisciplinary group of faculty and students to interactively address the following three questions:

What are the unique sociopolitical barriers to human rights–based drug policies in Asia?

What are the current public health challenges to human rights–based programs for illicit drug users?

What are the potential paths for solutions to address these barriers and challenges?

It will focus partly on the identification and understanding of human rights, including those that have their basis in international agreements and laws and in part on evaluation and assessment of the gap between rights and practice in the implementation of drug policies in many countries and regions.

Eligibility Criteria

Applications are invited from high-achieving MA and PhD students, junior faculty, research staff in universities, and other institutions and professionals from the field of public health.

No prior knowledge of human rights and drug policy is required of participants. A key objective of the course is to emphasize the interdisciplinary learning and of problem solving. It is thus an important objective that nonstandard disciplines are represented, and that new skills and capacities are applied to this area of public policy.

Ineligibility Criteria

Undergraduates without a university degree will not be considered.

Purpose and Priorities

A mix of teaching modes will be used, and faculty are encouraged to minimize the use of formal lectures. Emphasis will be on discussion and interactive learning with maximal use of written and nonwritten materials. There exist considerable amounts of audio-visual media, and these will be extensively used as a basis for group discussion.

Time will be allocated for personal reading, and participants will be encouraged to interact personally with faculty so as to deepen understanding of the issues. Site visits and discussions with civil society organizations and groups will be a feature of the program of activities.

All those attending the course will be provided with a certificate of attendance. Opportunities will also be provided during the course for personal discussions with faculty. It is intended that further work after the conclusion of the course be encouraged both in respect of research and program analysis and development. Course faculty will be prepared to provide follow-up assistance through personal agreement with students.

Guidelines

Download the application form and send to jsph@jnu.edu.in along with a brief statement of interest. This should contain a statement (maximum 1 page) of why the course is seen as relevant to current activities and what you expect to get out of the course. The program representative will provide confirmation by email after the registration deadline.